Canada Joins Global Ranking of FTTH Countries
Munich, 16 February 2012 – With their FTTH deployments ramping up, Canada and Malaysia have joined the list of economies where at least one percent of households are connected to all-fiber networks, according to the global fiber to the home councils.
The annual ranking, which tracks global deployment of fiber networks, was released today at the conclusion FTTH Council Europe’s annual conference.
It now includes 30 economies worldwide that have at least one percent of their households connected to FTTH/B[1], with South Korea continuing to lead in market penetration with FTTH/B reaching 58 percent of households in the country, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 56 percent, Hong Kong at 45 percent, Japan at 42 percent and Taiwan at 29 percent.
Following a recent surge in new FTTH deployments, Canada had nearly 170,000 fiber-connected households by end of 2011, representing 1.24 percent of the total number of households in the country. Meanwhile, recent deployments in Malaysia now have the country at 3.42 percent market penetration.
The top economies in terms of the number of FTTH/B connections are Japan (22.2 million), China (16.9 million), South Korea (10.4 million), the United States (9.6 million) and Russia (4.5 million).
“It is clear that Canada is now firmly on the path to expanded FTTH deployment, with several network operators in the country now upgrading to all-fiber, and we now expect that fiber to the home market growth in Canada may exceed that of the U.S. over the next several years,” said Heather Burnett Gold, President of the FTTH Council North America. “Meanwhile, FTTH is beginning to take off in Latin America and the Caribbean, with nearly a dozen network operators in those countries beginning their deployments. It is now clear that across the Americas, FTTH is becoming the preferred technology for wireline access networks that are looking to stay competitive.”
“We are happy to see new economies joining the Global FTTH Ranking”, says Chris Holden, President of the FTTH Council Europe, “but we are concerned that there is no new entrant from Europe. On the positive side we see a steady growth in our region. Still there is a long way to go to reach the Digital Agenda targets of the European Union to ensure that more than 50% of the European households will use broadband connections of 100 Mbit/s or more in 2020.”
"It has been an exciting journey witnessing the evolution of fiber deployment in the Asia Pacific region. In the past 10 years, like a parent, we have witnessed the birth, the growth and also the maturity of FTTH throughout this vast region filled with a rich diversity of cultures and nationalities. In the next five years, we shall witness the fruits of this advancement enriching the lives of everyone in the region, and that I promise will be an experience of a lifetime. It will truly be a cultural evolution." said Frank Jaffer, President of FTTH Council APAC.
“We are proud to have the UAE as the second country in the global ranking for 2011 in terms of FTTH connected homes,” says Faris Awartani, Chairman of FTTH Council MENA. “We have witnessed a rapid growth in the Gulf countries during the past two years and the Levant is promising to join during 2012 and the next five years”.
Juanita Clark, the CEO of the newly founded FTTH Council Africa comments: “Even though Africa is seeing significant amounts of fibre networks being deployed, literally thousands of km with weekly news of new entrants planning extensive routes, the main challenge still remains the access networks. As a natural progression we believe it is not long until we see significant growth in FTTH on the continent.”
For PDF of the chart below, click here.
For PDF of chart showing FTTH rankings of G20 countries, click here.
About the FTTH Council North America:
Now in its 11th year, the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit association consisting of companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet and/or voice services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic connections - as well as those involved in planning and building FTTH networks. Its mission is to accelerate deployment of all-fiber access networks by demonstrating how fiber-enabled applications and solutions create value for service providers and their customers, promote economic development and enhance quality of life. More information about the Council can be found at www.ftthcouncil.org.
About The FTTH Council Europe:
The FTTH Council Europe is an industry organisation with a mission to accelerate the availability of fibre-based, ultra-high-speed access networks to consumers and businesses. The Council promotes this technology because it will deliver a flow of new services that enhances the quality of life, contributes to a better environment and increased competitiveness. The FTTH Council Europe consists of more than 150 member companies. Its members include leading telecommunications companies and many world leaders in the telecommunications industry.
About the FTTH Council Asia-Pacific:
The FTTH Council Asia Pacific is a non-profit organization established in 2005 to educate the industry and the general public on the opportunities and benefits of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) solutions in the Asia-Pacific regions. FTTH Council Asia Pacific currently has about 70 members representing all areas of broadband industries, including telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, engineering and content-providers, as well as traditional telecommunications service providers, utilities and municipalities.
For more information, visit FTTH Council Asia Pacific on the Internet:
About the FTTH Council Middle East & North Africa:
In order to expand the FTTH deployment to the Middle East and North Africa region, the Fibre to the Home Council MENA started as the Middle East group within FTTH Council Europe in 2009 and was launched as MENA Council in January 2011. Their members consist of companies including manufacturers and many world leaders in the telecommunication industry who are involved in Committees dedicated to developing and promoting messages in the fields of market intelligence, policy & regulation and technology .
The FTTH council MENA is a non-profit organization with a mission to accelerate the FTTH adoption by all broadband stakeholders through information and promotion, in order to deploy the fiber-based, ultra-high-speed access networks to consumers and businesses.
About the FTTH Council Africa:
The FTTH Council Africa believes that the development and deployment of fibre based broadband access networks will enhance the quality of life for South African citizens and Africa as a whole, and provide African countries with an infrastructure that will allow its companies to increase their effectiveness and competitiveness within the global marketplace.
The council’s charter is to educate Africa governments, policymakers and political leaders on why and how high speed fibre connectivity can be delivered to citizens within the next years.
Through consulting with all major stakeholders, understanding their strategies and concerns - we endeavour to be the voice for the industry and creating a better future for all involved.
For more information contact:
FTTH Council Asia-Pacific
Ellen Chu
Tel: +852 9303 3108
ellen.chu@ftthcouncilap.org
FTTH Council North America
David St. John
+1 315 849 3800
FTTH Council Europe
Nadia Babaali
+33-6 20 88 72 38
FTTH Council Middle East & North Africa:
Christine Beylouni
M: +96170061601
E: christine.beylouni@ftthcouncilmena.org
FTTH Council Africa:
Juanita Clark
+27 (0) 12 661 1592 (office)
juanita@ftthcouncilafrica.com
[1]The FTTH Global Ranking is based on the FTTH Councils’ definition of FTTH/B: it includes both Fiber to the Home (FTTH), where the fiber connection reaches direct to the household, and Fiber to the Building (FTTB), where fiber terminates inside the boundary of a multi-tenant building. The ranking covers all countries with at least 200,000 households where the penetration of FTTH/B has reached one percent of the total number of homes.